BREAKING BADGER NEWS

BREAKING BADGER NEWS: on Saturday 2nd May, badger hair was found on the fence just a few feet from what local residents have long known to be an active badger sett, but which the developers have described (wrongly in our opinion) as a ‘disused fox den’. The hairs have been compared to photographed examples and descriptions on the internet, and we are in no doubt whatsoever that it is indeed badger and not fox or dog hair. Badger poo (also photographed) has also been found this weekend very close by in what appears to be territory marking, as it was not in a typical badger ‘latrine’. Some of the hair has of course been retained for expert analysis.
In addition to the sightings and video evidence of badgers in the vicinity in recent weeks, we believe all this provides further evidence that the sett is indeed live and any works in the field within 20m of it must only be carried out under licence from Natural England. We remain of the opinion that the previous clearance work and apparent damage to the sett was in breach of the Protection of Badgers Act 1992.
The developers have been advised, but just in case any work, (such as test drilling for the ground condition report needed for the planning application) might be attempted, we are asking everyone to be vigilant. This latest evidence is also being reported to the Police.

Guidance on contacting the Police can be found on their website. None of us are in a position to give definitive advice, but the Police can be contacted on 101 for all non-emergency matters, online at https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/contact-us/ or on 999 if the crime is in progress. The police control centre may well decide the call does not warrant a 999 response, but the initial advice is to call 999 if you believe the crime is actually in progress. The above web address gives advice on whether to use 999 or 101, but does not specifically address wildlife crime.